A theory of modern cultural shifts and meltdowns.
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ABSTRACT:
SUBMITTER: Hochberg ME
PROVIDER: S-EPMC1810050 | biostudies-literature | 2004 Aug
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature
Publications
A theory of modern cultural shifts and meltdowns.
Proceedings. Biological sciences 20040801
Many cultural attributes such as adornment, language slang, mannerisms and rituals are thought to have little or no influence on individual survival and reproduction, functioning rather as markers of cultural identity that promote group cohesion. Here, I show that if cultural markers are under weak selection and subject to loss or substitution, then the breakdown of cultural cohesiveness may proceed without stabilizing reactions until many or most of a culture's identifiers are forever lost. Thi ...[more]
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